Once upon a time, a tortoise guarded a serpent’s nest. One day, a barking deer came and challenged the tortoise to a jumping contest over the nest. The tortoise declined, saying he could not risk destroying the nest because it had far-reaching implications. But the deer insisted, promising he would protect the tortoise, whatever the consequences. Believing the deer’s assurance, the tortoise agreed to the jumping contest.

The deer easily jumped over the nest. The tortoise shouted “pak chheih kha!” and attempted to cross the nest but failed, badly destroying it, an act of crime against the serpent. Realising his precarious situation, the tortoise decided to run for his life, since the deer failed to keep his promise. The deer, with a trembling voice, said, “Tela, I cannot protect you.” So, the tortoise ran as fast as he could.

Upon reaching a gentle slope, the tortoise rolled headlong to pick up speed. He crashed into the houses of a serow, a sambar deer, and a wild boar, one after the other. Each of them refused to save him from the serpent’s wrath. Next, he bumped into the bear’s house with a thud, provoking the bear to anger. The bear demanded, “Who did this?” In a humbling voice, the tortoise responded, “I am Teltea, but people also lovingly call me Tela.” The bear asked why he was running headlong. The tortoise narrated the entire story, from the jumping competition with the deer to how he destroyed the nest and had to run for his life. After hearing the story, the bear also informed the tortoise he could not protect him. So, the tortoise continued to run further.

The tortoise then arrived at the tiger’s house, loudly smashing against the door. The tiger reacted sharply, asking, “Who made this noise?” The tortoise replied it was him and explained with a quivering voice how he and the barking deer competed to jump over the serpent’s nest, how he destroyed the nest, and why he started running for his life. He pleaded for protection from the serpent’s attack, but the tiger too asked him to run further.

Tired and exhausted, the tortoise finally reached the eagle’s house and knocked on the door. The eagle quickly responded, asking, “Who knocked at the door?” The tortoise replied, “I am Teltea,” and repeated his story, seeking protection. The eagle took pity on him and said, “Do not fear; I will surely protect you,” and hid him under his right wing.

The enraged serpent followed the tortoise’s footprints, determined to catch him at all costs. He inquired from every animal he met about the tortoise, but none gave him a positive reply. As he approached the eagle’s house, there was an unusual sound. The eagle asked the tortoise what the sound was, and the tortoise responded that the serpent had finally arrived. The serpent came to the house and asked if the eagle had seen the tortoise. The eagle replied, “No, I did not see him coming.” But the serpent, suspicious, said, “His footprints have just stopped here. You must have seen him. Maybe you are hiding him, so spread your wings,” he demanded.

The eagle spread his right wing fully, and nothing was seen. The serpent demanded he spread the left wing too, but the eagle tried to avoid it, saying, “My left wing is hurt since it was hit by children’s pellet-bow.” Still, the serpent insisted, and when the eagle partially opened his left wing, the tortoise’s tail was visible. Thus began the enmity between the serpent and the eagle, leading to a war between walking creatures, led by the serpent, and flying creatures spearheaded by the eagle.

When war was declared, all the walking creatures gathered and prepared for battle. Likewise, all the flying creatures assembled on the branches of a big banyan tree, ready to attack. As the war began, the serpent leapt upwards, breaking one of the branches where the birds sat. The frightened birds scattered, while the walking creatures cheered. After resting briefly, the serpent broke another branch to more cheers from the walking creatures. The flying creatures, however, felt disheartened and lost hope.

Among them was a bat who claimed to be a flying creature because he could fly. But when he fancied the walking creatures’ chances of winning, he switched sides, saying, “Brothers, look at me. My head, my teeth, and my appearance resemble you. Therefore, please allow me to join you.” So the bat defected to the walking creatures.

As the war intensified, even a snail tried to break a bird’s legs, while small birds fought with earthworms. The battle raged fiercely. Observing the serpent’s strategy, the eagle attacked, grabbing the serpent’s neck and weakening him. This brought joy to the flying creatures, who applauded their leader’s bravery.

Seeing the tide turn, the bat wanted to switch sides again. He flew up to the flying creatures, saying, “Brothers, look at me. I have wings. I belong with you.” Meanwhile, the serpent regained some strength and broke more branches but soon became exhausted. Attempting to break another branch, he lost control and got stuck on the banyan tree’s main fork. The eagle seized the opportunity, catching the serpent’s neck with his sharp talons and breaking his backbone, killing the serpent. The flying creatures won the war.

After the battle, a treaty was signed, and both sides agreed never to war again. The opportunistic bat, ashamed of switching sides, hid during the day and only came out at night in search of food.

A folkstory from Mizoram sourced from the NECARF Review page, authored by Luke Sangkima.

Additional notes:

• pak chheih kha! is an interjection used when making a big physical effort.
• Teltea/Tela is a pet name for a tortoise.

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